Weston Saint

I like this quote, it was a weak hand, if fact from what I know a very weak financial hand but he played it very badly with catastrophic results. Could he have played it better with the limited finances? Yes seems to be the majority opinion.

No you are not missing anything. 5% interest paid annually but your money is tied up until December 2016 although there is a clause which allows redemption at the end of December 2014. You still have to buy a membership to enjoy the facilities I believe but such facilities will be for debencher holders only. You also get guaranteed tickets for interntionals at cost price. You can invest over the same period in Bank Bonds and get a little higher interest. At 5% you ask what is the catch. Well none really although you lose your money if RoseBowl plc goes bust. How can they pay 5% per annum. Well it would cost them more than that to borrow the money from the financial Institutions. Contact Stuart Robinson at the RoseBowl for full details Warning: I am not employed by the RoseBowl and I do not hold a licence to give financial advice. This is just my opinion

I am not going to reveal my sources, yes there were more than one who had access to what was going on and were on the inside, but I can understand you questioning the same in view of the £1m spending (see I am not saying you are writing a load of tripe) but could it be the sale of Davies, the hope of offloading a few more expensive earners as well as the potential investment spin off might have been enough to convince the bankers short term. As for the Admin call, they were still hoping to limp over the line (no one WANTS to put their business into Administration but Barclays pulled the plug making it impossible to continue to trade legally) Question: why did Barclays not pull the plug a week earlier? Admin would have happened then and we would have suffered the 10 points last season. So many unanswered questions? It is not all as black and white as many assume it was. But then it does not fit some of the hate agenda. I am far from a Lowe supporter but I am able to take a rational look at the facts. Lowe, in my opinion, was an egotistical poor communicator who was not prepared to listen or ignored advice openly given to him by experienced football minds. But he did not fail from day 1. He was openly praised by Deliotes in the early years and respected by other Premier league Chairmen for his executive skill and inovation. He was the first to put relegation clauses into contracts, now the norm in football, I am told, and was a tenatious negotiator in the transfer market. His legacy in history, however, will still show he failed to keep us solvent.

That was something of the McMenemy magic and charm. One of his great assets, even now.

From what I have been told we were as good as in Administration at the end of the season before Lowe took over. We could not afford the wages of Pearson or the high paid individuals let alone their appearance and win bonuses. It was a last gasp effort to keep us afloat by sidelining them and going for the cheap Dutch alternative. Why not a cheap English alternative? Because Lowe & Wilde had already decided they wanted to rely on a continental style of total football. They thought our young players (whose wages we could just afford) would take the division by storm. Once they had made up their mind, despite reservations from many experienced football brains in and outside of the club, there was no turning back for Lowe. That was his mistake, the not trying for a blend of cheap experience and youth. Would we have survived if he had worked it differently and listened to experience? Who knows but I have it on good authority that we were as good as gone before Lowe stepped back in and at that time he told others around him that it was an almost impossible task, financially. The damage had been done during the previous regime. Would Lowe have kept us solvent in the Championship had he not been pushed out? Who knows but his past record on financial stability was good. We might have been an average Championship side for a long while due to the stadium debt. Still, it has all worked out well in the end despite the severe pain in the meantime. Time to look forward but let us not forget the past. There were a lot of mistakes and we must make sure they do not happen again.

I agree entirely with your post. Many off this board think exactly the same. You meant Martin O'Neil of course.

Same reason you are allowed to post?

As a working Chairman/Chief Executive Lowe was far from being on of the worst Chairmen in football. His ideas and execution of business matters was good. His problem was his severe lack of communication skill linked with a personality trait that he was never wrong. Those two factors in a football club situation negated his undoubted business skills. Not just my opinion but shared by many who knew him well and others who worked with him.

That is not strictly correct but I have explained myself in a PM to you.

One thing to remember about that era. Yes McMenemy signed some fantastic players who were still at the top of their profession, more so than any other club outside of the major clubs but that was when wages were not an issue between the best and the run of the mill top 2 division players. If you strip away all his faults, yes he was one of our best, if not the best Saints Manager in our history but to place him in the top 20 League Managers since the war is, in my opinion, quite wrong and that is what Nineteen Canteen was trying to say and to engender debate. Sadly it also attracted abuse. Each to his own I suppose!

Thought it was a reasonable opening post which poses questions but at the same time the poster has given his opinion. Firstly the fee is about average for someone in the sports industry with the wide experience he has. He expects a "free lunch" as well As to being in the top 20 successful managers since the war I think that must be a generalisation unless they names the other 19. He had good success with Saints, no one could argue that, but his forays into other areas of football management at any level were less succesful. It you put your Sainst tinted glasses on he was great for us. In the wider football world I would question the accuracy of the claim Anyway, I prefer this content of post than "what shall we sing to Lallana etc.etc.etc. Still each to his own.

My wife thinks he should not be able to play until after the 9pm watershed

Only remember one cinema in Woolston in the 50's & 60's. We called it the "bug hutch" Saturday morning for 6d (old pence) in the late 50's. Fond memories

Yes he was still involved so could not buy the club. However a property deal for the stadium did not break any rules.

That is stretching it a bit then

For a while prior to the takeover I expected Sullivan to purchase the Stadium and rent it back to those who did not have enough money to purchase the whole club! It was a strong rumour.

The exhaust has been damaged. It might only be scratches but it has affected the appearance and if the only way of resolving is by replacement then it is fair to accept the money and wait to replace when it is convenient to you. Remember though that she only has to pay for a replacement taking into account wear and tear on the item, not it's new price. To get a replacement as new you will need to go through your own insurance. As a retired Claims Manager with Norwich Union I hope this helps and puts an end to some of the previous comments.

Funny but I prefer the content of Dubai Phil's posts over yours. Suppose I am one of lifes lucky. b'stds

Before last season I paid for and used Mrs "Frank's Cousins" season ticket as she did not want to lose her seat should her circumstances change. On one occasion it was reported there was to be a season ticket check so I rang the ticket office. They said it was not a problem. They were aware owners of season tickets could not attend every game and sometimes passed their ticket to family and friends. With the stipulation that the season ticket holder was responsible for the actions of those they loaned it to, they did not have a problem. No problem at the turnstiles either. Even joked with "Frank" in front of them over who was wearing the skirt that day! Will be fine.

Or the famous one "the batsman's Holding the bowler's Willey"

Can we have our money back please!

Doncaster have injury problems. Assume it is a 1 month emergency loan. As FF says it is strange to see him go to a higher league but cannot get into our team. However perhaps as we gain momentum Pardew sees us as better than Doncaster Not on any of the news or football sites yet! However NickH usually gets it right on such things

I too agree with Saint Lard. Pardew actually said after the game "We're looking a strong unit and whilst we're not looking as good as the top teams in this division we're getting better"

You are right about the left being unbalanced by Adam playing. However if he keeps putting in the goals and performances he will do for me. Pardew will need to find a way of resolving this issue. It is making it very hard for Harding

He does have good parents Phil, his father is a personal friend of mine. Adam is not looking for a move in January. As for what was said about a Premier club coming in for him pre season, it was Wolves for £500,000 it was not really that serious. Club made a bit of it to boost his confidence. Pleased to see him finding the net so often. His parents are very proud.